At 20 and with just 15 games of regular-season experience, it remains a stretch to call Miami Heat 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic large and in charge.
But at 240 pounds, up 20 from his arrival last year, there is a weightiness to the game of the 6-foot-11 neophyte that wasn’t in place a year ago.
To assistant coach Caron Butler, who is guiding the Heat’s summer roster, the tangible gain is evident in both physique and physicality.
“Just really has added weight. And now he has the confidence to absorb that contact,” Butler said, with the Heat concluding their two-game run Wednesday night in Sacramento at the California Classic summer league before moving on to their Saturday opener at the larger Las Vegas summer league.”He’s getting downhill. He can do it either right or left. And that’s the beautiful thing about him.
“Even with the weight gain and the muscle and all that, he still is so mobile. He can create an advantage immediately. And I try to just give him as much real estate as possible to create the advantage and attack the paint and make the read.”
Upon his arrival as the No. 27 pick in 2022 out of Serbia, Jovic spoke of the dynamism he could provide on the wing.
But the Heat had and has plenty of that. What they lack, even with recent roster moves, is length in their power rotation.
So the weight went on, and the mentality was adjusted ahead of this summer schooling.
“I feel a lot better,” Jovic said of this second year of summer league. “Last year was not easy for me, coming out of the whole draft process, my body was not feeling great. I had back issues. Mentally, I was not in a great place at that moment.
“But this year, I really do feel great. I feel like my body looks a lot better. I think my game is a lot better.”
Whether Damian Lillard is added to the mix amid trade discussions with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Heat still figure to come out of the summer with ample options on the wing from the current pool that includes Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, Josh Richardson and 2023 first-round pick Jaime Jaquez Jr.
But at 6-11, Jovic stands as tall as anyone the Heat have in place. That has led to the realization of a Heat future of power play.
“I still feel like I can play multiple positions. I don’t think it’s a question,” Jovic said. “I feel like, yeah, working at the power forward position is a good thing, because I feel like the Heat see I can use my potential at that position, because I’m a lot taller than most of the power forwards. I think I have good passing skills as a power forward. If I can stretch the floor as a power forward and get my shot, I feel like I can be a great player at the position.”
During last season’s training camp, the experimentation was with 6-11 Omer Yurtseven alongside 6-9 starting center Bam Adebayo. Had it not been for a preseason ankle injury for Yurtseven, the pairing could have been the next big Heat thing, similar to when Adebayo was previously cast alongside 7-foot Meyers Leonard or 6-11 Kelly Olynyk in the Heat starting lineup.
Now, with Yurtseven having moved into free agency, Jovic is hoping the Heat are open to bigger as better.
“I don’t think you need to look jacked to be strong,” Jovic said. “So, I feel like I put on a lot already, 240. I don’t know what the goal is, but we’re gonna work through it and I’m for sure going to put more weight on myself. As long as I can still be fast and move good on the floor, I feel like we can add weight.”
For now, Butler said the summer is the perfect time to explore those possibilities, to give coach Erik Spoelstra something to think about ahead of training camp.
“He’s confident,” Butler said of Jovic. “I think one of the biggest things with him is rebounding the basketball and getting in space. He can run the floor. He makes excellent reads. And we just try to get the ball in his hand in different regions of the court, whether it’s going downhill, to his right, to his left, get him in post-up situations, back to the basket.
“He’s going to make the right read, always going to make the right pass, unselfish to a fault. So we’re just trying to encourage him to stay aggressive and just play his game.”
